Nuclear Reactors of Faith, Part 2: The Power of Prayer

Kate Thoresen August 23, 2009

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Ephesians 5:15-20

Introduction to Reading Ephesians 6:10-20

Paul knew how to capture the attention and imagination of his readers. This Letter to the Ephesians is full of poetic imagery. He paints the early church as all Beloved children of God, the Body of Christ, and the living Temple of God on earth. Last week in the message, Nuclear Reactors of Faith, Part 1, we explored Paul's exhortation to leave behind the old ways and live Spirit-filled lives.

Today we continue to read his striking imagery. Paul urges his readers to stand firm in the Lord in a tempestuous world marked by spiritual battles. Become equipped, he says, with the armor of God to claim all the rich spiritual resources we need to live in a world full of turbulence.

Let us turn to the living word of God as it comes to us in Ephesians 6:15-20:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Years ago, shortly after World War II, Frank Laubach wrote an influential book called The Power of Prayer. In it he described the incredible force of the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. He decried the destruction caused by the discovery of nuclear energy but went on to state that the power of prayer was an even mightier force on the planet earth.

He recaptured a strong point in Ephesians written in the first century. There indeed is incredible power in prayer. There are spiritual resources at hand that transform human lives. Such resources are available to communities of faith to even transform a world torn apart by forces that run counter to God's ultimate plan for all of creation.

How can we ever stand up to such dark forces of sin and evil that demean human life and even of all creation? We still see slavery, poverty and starvation in a world rich in resources; exploitation and greed in financial institutions created to safe guard people's wealth; corrupt politicians and behind the scenes manipulation of public funding; racism, ageism, and sexism. On the front page of the newspaper today we read about a 12 year old child who guns down an innocent woman. What kind of society do we have that such things happen? Just briefly skimming through the morning news we encounter the realities of demonic forces still at play all around us.

Paul described these as powers and principalities. He says that there is an ongoing spiritual battle raging on earth as well as in the cosmic realm. This letter encourages Christians then and now to stand firm in the Lord and to draw upon all the spiritual resources God makes available.

What are these spiritual resources that create a chain of events for the power of good throughout the world? We see these listed in Ephesians 6 in the various pieces of armor that a soldier would wear then. They are truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, peace, and Spirit/word of God.

Paul also urges ongoing prayers for oneself, for one's community of faith, and for leaders like Paul to proclaim the gospel. Prayer undergirds all these spiritual resources.

What is prayer? If we went around asking each person here what their definition would be, I'd estimate that we could come up with at least 20 to 30 different responses.

• Some would point to the prayers we say in church-those written, the ones we recite like the Lord's Prayer, and those offered during our times of Joys and Concerns.
• Others might say that prayer is talking with God, bringing to God all of your problems and concerns, or asking God to bless others.
• Others see prayer as offering thanksgiving for all the blessings of life and naming those each day. Still others have described prayer as "Being still and knowing that God is God."
• Being open to God's Presence and seeking to grow in that relationship. Some claim a sense of being immersed in love, while others experience a kind of radiant light that surrounds them.
• Others might claim that they pray for healing for others and have seen dramatic results.
• Others have prayed for healing or a changed circumstance and have not seen the results they hoped. Nevertheless, many discovered that although prayer did not change the situation, that prayer somehow changed them. They experienced God's presence in new ways. There was that peace that passes understanding. For some people there was a kind of feeling immersed in an ocean of love and concern. Others found a new spark of hope or a different way to deal with the situation.
• Others could say that they pray at certain times of the day: before meals, waking up in the morning, or going to sleep at night.

There are as many different ways as there are people! Life itself can become an incarnate prayer as you open yourself to experience God's blessings and seek to be an open instrument of God's blessings for others.

Our denomination is paying more and more attention to the power of prayer and the whole dimension of Christian spirituality. Some are still put off or puzzled by the word, "spirituality," as they see it as too self centered, not Christ centered, or sounding like some sort of New Age fad. Some question if it can become an excuse for escaping into in a comfortable cocoon remote from the actual struggles and problems of the world. Others dismiss it as being socially irresponsible and not engaging in Christian social action on behalf of others.

But for others, Christian spirituality describes an integrated religious life, with balance between contemplation and action, firmly rooted in God's vision for all humanity, and particularly for those who are "in Christ."

Christian spirituality sees life as a journey. We can never feel that we've arrived. But by the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, we are but still learning, still growing, still weighing experiences in light of scripture, and still trying to attend to what God is doing, seeking to be God centered. A life engaged in the power of prayer is aware of our continuing dependence on God's grace and wisdom for each day. A life of active prayer enlists whatever spiritual resources are needed at various points along that journey.

Tom Long, acknowledged as one of the top ten preachers in the United States has said this about the vital integration of spiritual practices and authentic engagement in the world today. His words are printed in our bulletin today: "Spiritual practices are the nuclear reactors of the Christian faith, arenas where the gospel and human life come together in energizing, even explosive ways." Practices create openings in our lives where the grace, mercy and Presence of God may be made known to us.

The power of prayer is like a nuclear reactor that engages these spiritual resources of God's Word, faith, peace, and truth. Like a catalyst, something powerful and good happens. Like a nuclear reactor, ingredients unseen by the human eye come together to create a chain reaction that can unleash energy that enhances human life.

So how do we incorporate these rich spiritual practices and resources into our lives, as individual Christians and also as a Christian community? Here are three opportunities coming up in the fall:

1. Learn more about how singing is like praying twice-engage in the course being offered by Ray and Dick on Handel's Messiah and how this sacred music glorifies God and helps us stand firm in the faith. This series will be on Tuesday evenings starting in September.
2. Stephen Ministers are putting together a workshop on Christian Care-giving that integrates ways we can carry God's care and love to others.
3. On Thursday evenings starting on October 1, Amy Grieger and I will co-lead a course called Awakening to God's Presence. We will look at six biblical stories and explore six traditional prayer practices that integrate scripture with spiritual lives. These are some specific spiritual practices from our rich Christian tradition that keep us alert to the movement of God in human lives.

I'd like to offer you a challenge: For the next 30 days, pray daily with the Psalms. Notice what word or phrase sparkles for you. Write it on a sticky note and post it somewhere you can see it throughout the day. See how this helps you pay more attention to God in what you think, say and do.

And in conclusion, let's look at a prayer that Paul offered for those who heard or read his message to the Ephesians. Let's turn to Ephesians 3:14b-19:

I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. ¹⁶ I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. ¹⁸ I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Isn't it rather amazing how this prayer and this witness have stood the test of time over twenty centuries?

But how many of us remember the Roman emperor who imprisoned Paul and had him beheaded? Who can name the poets, playwrights, the celebrities and people of political influence of that day?

Yet look at how Paul's prayer for God's timeless, unbounded love shown in Jesus Christ has overcome all barriers of time and place. It has been translated into languages that Paul never heard of and received by thousands, if not millions, of people in distant lands that were not even discovered in the first century. Yet here it is today in our hands, readily accessible to all who turn to it.

Paul's own prayer still sparks tremendous power throughout the world today. The chain reaction of such faith, hope and love continues on through God's beloved people who seek to stand fast in the Lord!

²⁰ Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians. 3:20-21)

Amen.

©Kate Thoresen 2009